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Change is in the air but, in some cases, still in need

12:03 a.m. EST November 10, 2013

It was a week of change in Rochester with Lovely Warren, right, capturing the mayor’s chair and Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, left, enduring new charges against her administration. At center is former Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson.
(Photo:
Democrat and Chronicle
)

Spring is traditionally a time of rebirth and New Year’s a time of renewal, but for the Rochester region, November 2013 has been a time of change. Political and spiritual landscapes have been altered. New directions and leaders have been chosen. And with changes yet to be determined from a locally generated Supreme Court case and a locally focused state and federal investigation, the trend will continue.

The political

At its best, change represents hope, progress, the potential for betterment. Thus was the banner flown by then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008 and similarly did it capture the campaign of soon-to-be Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren. By appealing to the need to bring together the “two Rochesters,” Warren sounded a message of positive change that voters enthusiastically endorsed Tuesday.

Her charge now is to maintain momentum and enthusiasm as she strives to translate campaign vision into practical policy. Outgoing Mayor Thomas Richards has vowed his support in smoothing the transition. That lead should be followed by all who make their home or living in Rochester.

Several “inner-ring” suburban towns are likewise transitioning to new leadership. Republican Bill Reilich’s vow to increase government transparency and constituent interaction in Greece is welcome change indeed. New supervisors will also be setting new direction in Irondequoit and Henrietta. All must be more heedful of their interactions — municipal and otherwise — with the city and its new mayor. New faces make for new opportunities, and none must be squandered.

The spiritual

At the same time, the region’s estimated 350,000 Catholics last week welcomed the Diocese of Rochester’s ninth bishop, Salvatore Matano. His Jan. 3 installation will end a nearly year-and-a-half leadership vacuum in the 12-county diocese beset by financial challenges that include a vastly underfunded pension account.

Matano’s repeated appeals to Rochester’s disenfranchised Catholics to “come home” offered gentle encouragement, but it may take more than that in a diocese that has seen church membership flat for decades.

Coincidentally, as the 67-year-old bishop was introduced Wednesday, religion was being debated at the Supreme Court in a legal challenge to the Greece Town Board’s practice of beginning meetings with almost exclusively Christian prayers. The court’s ruling, its first on such an issue in 30 years, may change how public bodies incorporate prayer into their meetings, not only in Greece but nationwide.

The consequential

Another big story stemmed from changes that have been called for, but not made. The Monroe County Legislature’s minority Democrats for years have railed against a lack of transparency and oversight regarding operations of Local Development Corporations. County Republicans, of which County Executive Maggie Brooks is the titular head, consistently and dismissively reject such efforts.

Embroiled in yet another scandal, Brooks and the GOP ought to change the way they do business. If not, voters should recognize the need to change those they entrust with doing the people’s business.